Method of treating ore.



J. T. JONES.

METHOD OF TREATING ORE. APPLI ATIO'N FILED APR. 11, 1908.

Patented Sept. 22, 1908.

Ime 7":

LIZ/ am Z @7165,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN T. JONES, OF IRON MOUNTAIN, MlCHIGAN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO GEORGE A. ST.

CLAIR, OF DULUTH, MINNESOTA.

METHOD OF TREATING ORE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 11, 1908. Serial No. 426,453.

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, JOHN T. J ONES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Iron Mountain, in the county of Dickinson and State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Methods of Treating Ore, of which the following is a s ecification.

My object is to provi e a simple and imroved method of treating iron, or other, ore or the purpose of reducing the oxids to metal and putting the ore into the condition of sponge, preparatory for further treatment to extract or refine and save the metal. In carrying out my invention I subject a mass of ore to a hi h temperature in an 0x1 a soak pit. The pit may contain a bed of,

' preferab y, pulverized bituminous coal, or

- the pit.

the coal may be charged with the ore into Here the stored heat from the ore will operate to distil off the volatiles of the fuel and cause them to react upon the ore and deoxidize its metallic oxide. The mass may remain the pit until it cools below the temperature at which the reducing action will continue or, in fact, until it is cool enough for ready handling.

The results obtained by the practice of this method will be governed, largely, by the temperature of the ore when charged into the pit. Under proper conditions a mass of ore should become quite thoroughly reduced and sufficientlty cool after being in the soaking pit sa from ve to twelve hours.

y invention is particularly well adapted for the economical reduction of oxid of iron ores, and in the accompanying drawing 1 illustrate, by a broken sectional view, apparatus which may be employed to practicewthe steps of my method for the'production of what may be characterized as iron sponge.

The drawing shows a furnace of a type commonly employed for burning cement, 1 being an inclinedrotary kiln, say one hundred or more feet in length, 2 a movablefirebox fitting over the lower end of the kiln, 3

presence of a reducing atmosphere.

. oxygen.

a blast tube extending from an air blower 4, and 5 a storage hopper for pulverized coal. The coal is fed by a conveyer 6 from the hop er into the blast tube, and is blown into the ower end of the kiln where it is ignited. As the construction and operation of a furnace of this type are well known, a more detailed descriptlon and illustration thereof in this connection is thought to be unnecessary. The ore to be heated is fed into the upper end of the kiln and in the rotation of the latter is moved slowly to the lower end whence it is discharged. The tem erature to which the ore is subjected before liaaving the kiln should be hi henough to heat themass throughout to a Eegree below that necessary to melt any of its constituents but well above that necessary to deoxidize the metallic oxids in tlIie n other words, if, for example, the melting temperature of the slag making constituents is 2200 F.-I would heat the mass to a temperature between-1470 F. and 2000 F. As the ore moves through the kiln any sulfur contents will be more or less thoroughly eliminated.

7 represents an approximately air-tight chamber or soaking pit having a chute 8 in its top, which may be in position to receive the ore discharged from the kiln 1 and direct it into the pit. A swinging valve 9 in the chute will permit the ore to slide into the pit and prevent the escape of gas therefrom to any material extent. Also at the top of the pit is a coal-hopper 10 fitted with a bell valve 11.

As the hot ore is discharged from the kiln 1 it falls into the pit without material loss of temperature. lnltially a layer of bituminous coal dust may be s read over the bottom of the pit and as t e ore accumulates thereon the eat of the ore will distil the volatile hydro-carbons out of the coal and thus generate reducing gases which will immediately react upon the hot ore to rob it of its As the ore accumulates in the pit more coal may be added from time to time throu h ,the ho per 10. The ore will cool very s owly in t e pit because of its confinement and because a certain amount of heat will of course be generated by the chemical reactions. If the ore enters the pit at a temperature of say 2000? F. substantially all the metallic oxids will have been reduced before the temperature falls below say 1000 F.

incorporated therewith.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The method of reducing ore which consists in heating a mass thereof toa high temperature Without melting it, then subjecting the heated mass, under confinement, to contact with fresh hydro-carbon fuel, distilling the fuel by the heat of the ore and thereby generating a deoxidizing atmosphere to react upon the ore and reduce metallic oxide to meta 2. The method of desulfurizi and reducing ore which consists in an jecting a mass thereof to a highly heated oxidizing atmosphere to burn off sulfur and heat the mass to a high temperature without melting it, then sub eQting the heated mass, under confinement, to contact with fresh hydrocarbon fuel, distillin' the fuel by the heat of the ore and there y generatingl a deoxidizing atmos here to react upon t e ore and reduce metal 'c'oxids to metal.

JOHN T. JONES. In presence of i L. HEISLAR,

R. SOHAEFER. 

